The Mariah Carey-Nick Cannon story has been percolating all week. Page Six was the first to report that they were separated (and had been for months), then TMZ said that the lawyers were already involved and that all of the financial stuff was being worked out. People and Us Weekly followed up yesterday with their own “sources” confirming that Mariah and Nick were headed for divorce sooner rather than later. And then Nick confirmed it all to The Insider/Yahoo yesterday. According to Chris Spencer:

“He said ‘yes, [they're] going through a rough patch. There’s nothing to do with infidelity.’ He didn’t confirm that it was over, but he did say that they’ve been living separately for a few months now.”

So, Nick spoke to a news outlet and confirmed the split. Certainly that was not on message with Butterfly Headquarters, right? As it turns out, Mariah knew that Nick wouldn’t be able to keep his mouth shut, so she already hit him with a confidentiality agreement. Oh, Mariah.

Mariah Carey has gagged Nick Cannon — but not in a good way. He’s not allowed to say boo about their divorce … or else. Sources close to the couple tell TMZ … Nick and Mariah’s lawyers hashed out a confidentiality agreement as part of their divorce … and it’s completely one-sided.

Nick is barred from saying anything about the split. If he does, there are severe financial penalties. But Mariah has the right under the agreement to announce the split on her terms.

Nick is clearly following orders … check out the video from NYC Thursday — he zipped it. Nick is allowed to say they’re now living separately … which he’s already done. But he cannot say anything about the divorce.

As TMZ first reported … the divorce is a “done deal” … the property settlement and child custody have already been hashed out.

I can’t believe Nick agreed to that!!! Hopefully he held out for more money, because his silence is and will be priceless now and in the months to come when Mariah goes on her WOE IS ME, HE WRONGED ME Tour. Mariah thinks that she’ll be able to play this like Nick abandoned her and we should all rally around her because no one knows her pain. But will it actually work out that way? Probably not. It depends on whether or not Nick has sidepieces and whether those sidepieces speak out. Radar says that Mariah totally believes Nick was cheating and she would “seethe in her jealousy.” Radar’s source also says “Nick and Mariah don’t trust each other.” That’ll do it.

I respect silence a lot more than some blabber mouthed man OR woman running all over the media talking about the reasons for a divorce. Just because people are celebrities does not mean the public is entitled to know why they split or the details.

I hate when celebrities talk crap about their ex…when Jenny McCarthy was going on and on about Jim Carey, it just made her look like an ass (which she is)! I hope both Nick and Mariah respect each other and their kids…

Agreed on all counts. I was really responding to Kaiser’s comment about Nick signing on to a confidentiality agreement and then having Mariah do the trashing or putting out her version of what happened. Hopefully they spare their children the future trauma of having to relive their parents’ split when they’re old enough to navigate something with a search engine.

@MrsBPitt:
Your comment brought a thought that I had when the Jenny M. / Jim. C. happened … for the life of me, I never understood why she would say the Jim C. as a father was not taking care of their child. Now, correct me if I am wrong, but Jim C. is not the biological father of her child and I never thought that he would mistreat the child or not want to keep in contact but her comments were out there. Did she also talk trash about her child’s biological father?
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Nothing is really surprising when it comes to celebrities, but I really thought they (M.C. and N.C.) made a good couple. Heck I even thought he catered to her every need.

Um…i think Nick’s found several “someones” in the past few years. (Nevermind the someone he was on a date with last week.) He’s a cheater. Big time. Trust me, this confidentiality agreement is for her to save face from all the dirty he’s been doing.

“Poor Nick?” Dude needs to shut up, grow up , and indeed focus on his kids. Maybe less tiime at those ridiculous Wild n Out/or whatever they are called gigs. Grow up dude!! Why is he a victim? He knew the deal with Mariah. Dude is no victim. She should have gagged him a long time ago.

I think if he continues to talk, it will only make him unlikeable. He knew what he was getting into with the sparkly butterfly. I used to like him, but his little bursts of acting like an attention-seeking ass have not endeared him to me.

I don’t know if I believe he did sign anything. TMZ usually picks a side and it looks like they’re going Team Mariah, so this could all be bullsh*t to make her look boss. If Beyonce has bad PR game, then Mariah has epically bad PR game.

I’m sure she’ll get the most time with the kids, which is unfortunate since she seems to be batsh.t crazy. She has the kids spend all day with nannies, then fires the nanny if the kids get attached. She’s awful for doing that.

Ugh, that’s gross that she deliberately denies her kids the opportunity to form close, normal bonds with their caregivers. Those kids are probably going to have some ugly attachment issues later than in life.

I was just reading that a point of contention between them was that he “insisted” on working. Um, girl? Let the man work if he wants to work. Not many people feel comfortable being a paid companion. I like Mariah, but we all know she’s a mess. She seems like insecurity personified, so whether he cheated or not, she may have treated him like he was anyway. I had a SIL like that and finally her husband said, “If you’re going to treat me like I’m doing wrong, I might as well go and do wrong.” She finally turned it around… but Mariah has no one giving her the hard truths, I’d wager.

Normally I would agree with you here, buuuuuuut… Looking back on the projects Nick Cannon has worked on I don’t blame Mariah. That attention-seeking album, “White People Party Music”, my god…. UUUUGGGH! And lest we forget, anytime Nick tried to promote something he was always TMI about their relationship. And then when he tries to act?!? There are a list of reasons why Nick Cannon shouldn’t be working (in front of the camera, at least) .

He has more going on than that. He works with TeenNick, I think he had something to do with producing their Halo Awards which recognizes teens committed to community service. He also hosts that show. He’s not just the host of Wildn’Out, he’s an EP. There’s also America’s Got Talent. None of his projects reflect poorly on his wife.

Thanks for pointing that out. I don’t have a dog in this fight but at least Nick is a go getter. The man hustles and regardless of if a person likes Wild n Out, it’s a hit and the Urban community loves it. Why shit on fans who like that show. AGT is a hit and he’s the host. He’s no Eddie Cibriani who sits back and wait for his wife to support him. Nick was already established and working quite well in the industry before he met Mariah. So what he’s had a few flops. At least he keeps trying. If anything he’s more popular than Mariah right now. What has she done lately. She has more money but at least he has steady gigs that brings in his own income.

I just cannot imagine ever being in a relationship with Mariah. I’m amazed they lasted as long as they did–but something’s gotta give. Mariah seems like she’s all ME ME ME. That might be cute for a hot minute in a twenty something–but in a forty something? God, no. No one wants to deal with that for very long.

Virgilia – having watch Mariah’s hour long litany on the Home Shopping Network (don’t ask why) the ME ME ME is going to make for delicious hot snark on her next visit. No one can sell a polyurethane faux alligator skin purse while weeping anguished crocodile tears like Mariah.

I don’t disagree at all. But it’s not as if there was any doubt about who she was from the get. There’s no question that she helped propelled his career. He wasn’t on my radar at all until he married her. I always thought of him as a ‘nice guy’, and he still might be, but the Howard Stern interview and some other antics have me questioning if the nice guy routine was more of an act. Of course all celebs create personae (?, personas?), some may be close to the real individual and some may be a complete facade. I guess time will tell. But if this marriage had a gender reversal, at least a quarter of the comments on here would be about him being a gold digger.

Oh God, finally the man is free! You can see the pain in his eyes! Mariah sucked the life right out of him!
Remember when Nick was in hospital when they went on some ski trip?
I dont remember why he was there but I’ll never forget the douchey poses she made lying next to him on his hospital bed for the media! The poor guy was in pain but she still made it all about her. She’s ignorant, disgusting.

Nick has an autoimmune disease and his kidneys randomly failed. I think that’s the hospital stay with Mariah posing like a diva on his hospital bed. I have to say, I really like both of them as entertainers. I think their kids will be well taken care of at least.

Clearly you don’t remember the ‘honey’ video which was a dig at Tommy Motolla who was super controlling and abusive during their relationship. His controlling extended to all areas of their life – professional and private. Lots of chatter about it when they broke up.

The impression given was that though he had guided her to the top of the charts and treated her like a princess, she was very much a prisoner.

That video seemed to be acknowledging all the chatter. And boy did she let rip after she left Tommy. Her musical style and image changed completely.

Nick married Mariah for the money. Word around the rumor mill was that he was going broke. Tried to tap into Christina Milian’s money and Selita E. Bank’s money all by proposing with the same engagement ring in a short period of time. Didn’t he owe the IRS too? Anyway, dude didn’t go the real man’s way instead he took the cheap way out by trying to marry into money. Mariah fell for it. That’s why I believe that she didn’t invite Oprah to her wedding because Oprah has the habit of telling a sister the truth just like she tried to tell Maria Shriver about Terminator face. Mariah married real quick because she was desperate to believe that a man would love her and her “divaness”. Mariah’s a piece of work and is probably a real jerk to her staff, so I can’t say that I feel sorry for anyone who would step on the little people, especially after what I’ve heard about her behind the scenes antics.

Nick deserves a lot of pain and suffering money for dealing with that wackadoo for all these years. They had a very odd marriage and I don’t think it was “conventional” or traditional in any way. I will put her in my Halle crazy pile if she starts bashing him and playing victim and doesn’t let him defend himself or share the truth.

She’s probably hoping to revive her failing career and gain some public sympathy/interest, but it’s just not gonna happen.

He’s been well compensated so far and i’m sure that will continue a bit.

Mariah really messed up with this hush up contract. No matter how she tries to play it she’ll just reinforce her diva reputation. And Nick appears as a likable guy on his host job and charity work. This is already an steep uphill battle and Mariah hasn’t even begun.

I think people forget why they fell in love in the first place. I’m kind of disappointed. I always thought that they genuinely loved and admired each other. Those comments Nick made about his past relationships were T-A-C-K-Y. I don’t know how you can brag about the women you’ve slept with, publicly, and also be married. I hope that Nick and Mariah can work things out, at least for the sake of the twins.

There is nothing to come clean about. But Thanks Page Six for making OTR tour a success $100M+.
As for Nick and Mariah this is what happens when a person hooks up with their childhood crush.Nick was living in a fantasy world rather than in reality.
Good luck to both as they co parent their kids.
It was a punk move for Nick to let his boy ,Chris Spencer,speak for him Unless he isnt allowed to talk to media.

I doubt Mariah will. Without this gag order/contract I think he would have kept quiet.
Now it’s likely Mariah will try to publicly humiliate Nick and paint herself the struggling single mother who tried to make her marriage work despite her ex’s terrible ways.

Regardless of what kind of person Nick was/is. This is all Mariah’s game now. She controls the board and all the pieces.

This was clever to agree to, I think. Everything she know says will be tainted. People will stop to wonder exactly what she gagged him for, what secrets he has. This is far more effective and ruining her image than actually telling all.

I guess I have a bias here. I saw the rise and breakdown and comeback of Mariah.
She’s like Halle in a way. The Diva behavior and t’s never their fault a relationship ended. (1 exception in Mariah’s 1st marriage. He was a known abuser)
If there’s a way she can alter her image she will.

And from what i’ve seen of Nick he seems kind of the opposite. Sure anyone in that business will try to take misfortune and turn it into pr gold. I can’t see Nick dragging MAriah’s name through the mud knowing 1 day his children would read it.

Time will tell. We’ll have to see how this plays out. Will Mariah try playing the victim? Will Nick have side ices coming out of the woodwork? Did a gag agreement really have to be signed because maybe Mariah doesn’t want us to know she screwed up? IDK. None of us do. I’llwait until it plays out.

Oof. Methinks they have been on *bad* terms for a while because, given this info, Nick *had* to know that what he said to Yahoo was going to send her through the roof. He probably agreed to this yes, for a price, but also to get this the hell over with ASAP. Sounds like it got ugly. As so many others have said, I hope girl has got MANY shrinks/yes men/bottles of butterfly champagne on standby because she is not exactly known for her resilient psyche.

Mariah is the Queen of all Divas and I am shocked that they were able to m=be married for as long as they were. I am not a fan of Nick Cannon but I think he will be better off divorced than married to Mariah Carey. She has a beautiful voice but I would imagine she is a full time job to keep happy.

Wow, he better use some of that cash he’s earned to get some serious tattoo removal. I think he really loved her for a while and her neediness made him feel manly or something. But it gets old, especially when kids are involved. And Dem Babies are now Dem PreKindergarteners, so she can’t play princess with a stroller anymore. It’s sad they’re splitting up, but their differences are so glaringly apparent.

He dropped in my book when on Howard he bragged and named names regarding some famous people he banged. It just comes off classless.

I think Nick professionally took off and he became full of himself probably, tried less, cheated. Mariah is Mariah, high maintenance, demanding, and then they had twins. Children can put a lot of stress on an already strained marriage.

It’s sad for the children. They are so cute, and growing up with two intact parents who love and are committed to each other is the best thing. But it is what it is now, so better then growing up watching them fight nonstop.

Please tell me who goes on Howard Stern and can walk away from that show with any shred of class intact.
I forget who it was, but a respectable guest said you go on to tell dirt. It might not be true, but you have to tell something his demo comes toexpect from the show.

Due to several posters on CB, I started listening to HS. After awhile it became too much so I stopped, but answer to your question, John Cusack. He expertly avoided most of the probing questions, refused to name any names, didn’t brag about anything and basically said nothing despite lots of probing from HS and his sidekick.

I always thought of this relationship as more of a business arrangement. She needed a sperm donor, he needed a springboard onto the A-list. They both got what they wanted out of it – no harm, no foul. Mariah will be parading around a new, younger shopping bag-holder/dress-fluffer in no time, and Nick will hook up with someone new as well. That’s how it goes.

Wow I’m surprised at all the comments on here dissing Nick. Either I missed a lot or some are on her payroll.
I never heard of him cheating. I figured Mariah would have hired someone to spy on him anyway. She seems very controlling like that. Dude had to be a saint to put up with her divaness.